Rain
by Chase-your-dreams
Summary: Dreams and reality. The only thing that bonds them is the rain. His dreams push him towards darkness, hers impeade her growth. Can they save each other before it's to late. Or will he give into darkness, and her to regret. Ichi x Rukia paring. R&R Please
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Not yet anyways.

A/n: Ichigo is seventeen, with that you can figure out everyone else's age. Issin had already revealed himself to Kon, and Ichigo, however the two espada haven't come yet. Please read and review.

Key to text.

**Bold: **Onomatopoeia

_Italicizes:_ Thought speech ( it varies between whose speaking so just pay attention)

_**B. Italicizes:**_ Hollow speech (inner hollow speech, or zanpaktou speech)****

Rain

Chapter 1: Inner Chaos

_If I were the rain _

_could I make someone happy_

_could I entice a smile of on a angry face_

_if i were the rain _

_could I be the sorrow _

_that causes so much pain_

_if I were the rain_

_could I soothe the grief stricken soul_

_on a cold winters night_

_if i were the rain_

_would I be anything more than a hated reminder _

_of a far off occurrence_

_if i were the rain _

_would I be anything more _

_than the tears of dying angels _

_falling to the ground _

_mixing with the silent streams that run down tender cheeks _

_could I be more than alibi?_

_If I were the rain _

_would the retaining clouds _

_be able to quarantine _

_my passionate free fall _

_as I ripped open the heavens and gracefully fall to earth_

_if I were the rain_

_would I be able to cultivate love_

_as I slipped from the heavens _

_would I be able to let it bloom_

_as I hastily fell_

_would the cries of passion and sorrow_

_pit pat_

_be heard_

_as I softly hit the ground_

_if I were the rain_

_could I be loved_

_instead of silently hated_

_if I were the rain _

_could I ever love_

_find true happiness_

_if I were the rain _

_would my cries be heard_

_my tears seen_

_if I were the rain..._

_if I were the rain..._

_if I were the rain..._

_the rain..._

_rain... _

( Omniscient POV)

Rain poured from the sky, flooding the hopes of survival. Water drenched clothing ran through the once lively city. **Splash**! Hurrying heavy steps pounded through the deep puddles on the ground. A orange haired shinigami clung to life with every passing minute. His life slipping further and further from his own wet grasp. To him each footstep silently carried him closer to death. Red blood mixed into the clear silhouette of the water streaming from the sky. He neared a forest, a dark ominous forest. Leaping onto a branch of a near by tree, he gained leverage. His senses were dulled by the torrential downpour, he could only rely on his instinct. His own fleeting instinct carried him branch to branch. Branch to branch, branch to **CRACK**! The branch broke carrying him down to the cold ground. Down he no longer had the strength to rebound or even break the fall. So down he fell for an eternity, slowly slow enough to count the drops of rain that plummeted to the earth with him. Blood streamed above him, it dripped below him. Gravity was an enemy that even he couldn't beat. Now he could see the earth, his soon to be resting place. As he hit the semi hard muddy sediment he could barely hear the sound of his own bones cracking over the rain. The pain was intense, so very intense it ripped through his soul. Set his body on fire, with slushy mud in his mouth he was unable to scream out to relieve him self. He laid there in the tepid center, freezing cold rain above him, burning red blood below. The pain was intense to intense, his eyes rolled back, so far back that he started to dream of his own memories in the rain. Those sad pitiful memories, tears streamed down his cheeks. As he slipped from the world of consciousness a worn, beaten raven haired teen landed besides him. Instantly dropping to both knees she out called his name.

"ICHIGO!!!"

"ICHIGO!!!!!!"

"ICHIGO!!!!!!!!!"

"Ah." an orange haired teen abruptly sat up in his bed. Cold sweat drenched his clothing. His breathing was uneven. His chest reacted in pain as cold sharp air blew into his lungs. His usually messy hair was even messier. His sheets full of perspiration. He tried to calm himself and take in his surroundings. His room, he was in his room. Two beds, a desk with a computer, a stereo, bookcase, closet for clothes, a dresser for more clothes, a mirror, and a door for escape. His room, his safe room. His mind was corrupted with fear. An emotion that he wasn't used to having, his heart beat increased as a pounding headache drummed his in his skull. His insides were torn up, on the outside he only appeared tired. His eyes shot to the window. No rain, no drops of water, not even a cloud was in the sky, only the moon. He turned his head to his left and came face to face with his worried roommate.

"Ichigo, are you alright" she asked. Her dark eyes full of concern, her voice steady and even. Ichigo took a moment before answering. He needed to ensure her that he was fine with his usually monotone. He took a deep breath ad replied, "Yeah, I'm fine, I just had a bad dream. Nothing to worry about". "Are you sure?", _damn it _he thought. She had an annoying habit of asking to many questions. "Yeah I'm sure, I just need some rest, speaking of rest why aren't you sleeping?" He attempted to shift the topic from him to her. "I was sleeping but you screams woke me up.", if she had the bad habit of asking to many questions then he had the bad habit of asking the wrong questions. "Sorry Rukia, I had a ... look I'm sorry, lets just try to get some sleep, we have school in a few hours". She didn't move only stared into his eyes. "We should talk about your dreams, maybe it'll make you feel better."

All to coldly he answered, "No, we wont talk about my dreams were just going to go to sleep". "You kept calling out your mothers name". Ichigo stopped breathing all too soon those flooding memories came rushing down on him like a tsunami. His eyes widened in shock, the memories of his dream. The girl, the river, the earth as he tripped, his mother shielding him, and the...rain. The substance that bonded his memory. A sinister laugh that was enhanced be the rain, blood that was thinned by the rain, tears that were renewed by the rain. His mother was walking away from him, leaving him behind, he ran with all his speed to catch up but he couldn't. He was falling now. Into black abyss until.

"Ichigo!!", she called his name.

He regained consciousness. He turned to Rukia and glared at her. "Rukia get some rest we have school", with that he laid back down and faced the wall. Silently she returned to her own bed and turned towards the closet. "Goodnight" she said to the other teen. "Sorry", she added softly before closing her eyes.

Sunlight shone through the open window. Warm rays cut through cool December air. Light greeted Ichigos' eyes as he opened them. The events of the past night were tucked away into a corner of his mind. He turned his head to his clock,it read seven thirty. Which left him with a little less than thirty minutes to get to school,so he got up and got started. After running through his morning rituals he went downstairs. His father was drinking a cup of coffee, and reading the news paper. He glanced up at his son, Issin had felt a strong surge of spiritual energy the night before that had awoken him. That energy had come from his son, eventually it had died down enough as to not draw holllows to their house, but it still worried Isshin. He had hoped that by now his seventeen year old son would have learned to control his reistou. "What are you staring at old man" questioned Ichigo. Who was half wondering and half enjoying the fact that his father hadn't launched an all out frontal morning assult on him. "Are you feeling okay son", Issin hadn't broken his stare or his train of thought when Ichigo talked. He was pondering what had triggered the power explosion the night before. He knew that Ichigo wouldn't tell him willingly but he still had to ask. "Yes, I'm fine", Ichigo was becoming annoyed with that particular brand of questioning. _Are you okay, yes I'm fine, _next would come, "Are you sure Ichigo". Automatically Ichigo answered, "Yea, um... did Rukia leave already?" Issin nodded. Returning his pupils to his paper he added, " Have a good day at school"

Ichigo was now two blocks away from school. Asterik was blaring from his ipod headphones. He hadn't caught up to Rukia who always takes the straight way to school; so he took a short cut. The shortcut just happened to be through a park. Tall trees, wooden benches, a lake, an open field or two, and a dirt path. He used to come here when he was a kid. Back when life was simple. He used to spend Sunday afternoons here. In peace, his only thoughts were of his family. No hollows, no shinigami, no vizard, only his father, his sisters, and his mother. Life was good, well it used to be good now all he had was half good tepid memories. His feet carried his a little further through his memories, until he suddenly stopped. He took a deep breath and started a small jog. As he broke into a run his eyes caught sight of a woman standing underneath a tree, she was beautiful. With long flowing brown hair, and a bright smile. She stood there waving, she mouthed the name, "Ichigo" as he broke off towards school.

Rukia inhaled a deep breath full of the scent of autumn air. As she exhaled she watched the leaves dance in the wind. Dance through swriling loops and breath taking swirls. She laughed timidly. She wondered how long this peace would last. When fighting a war peace was measured by the amounts of breaths you could take before the next attack. Aizen hadn't made his move yet, and truthfully she was becoming impatient. It wasn't that she liked war it was just that her time was limited. She was assigned Ichigo's town along with several other shinigami's in case any of Aizens' troops appeared. But if nothing happened she might get recalled to soul society. Meaning that she wouldn't get to spend any time with Ichigo. She didn't know why she even wanted to spend time with the idiot, all they ever did was fight. Even so fighting was nice sometimes.

Taking another deep breath she exhaled and couldn't help but to think that her time in the material world was like the autumn leaves. You wait all year for them to come, you traverse all the other seasons, the heat of summer, the laziness of spring. Then finally, it comes with all of its wonderful colors, and cool sweet scents, and just when you begin to get used to it winter comes and steals it away. The bitter cold, the harsh winds, the depriving snow; that at times can create a landscape equally as stunning and beautiful as the falling autumn leaves. When winter comes you eagerly look forward to what the next autumn will bring.

A smile graced her lips, it was however a small sad smile. She didn't want to leave, she secretly enjoyed being in the material world. She liked going to school, and having friends, and staying with Ichigo and his family. She was fond of doing girlish things, and being a teen. To the Gotei 13 it was a mission, to her, it was...it was freedom. Being a shinigami made her feel like a caged bird with clipped wings. Being on Earth made her feel as if she could fly, even if it was only for a few minutes. **Ding Dong, Ding Dong!!** The first set of bells rang. Sighing she walked towards the school yard.

The orange haired boy stepped into the classroom. He walked over towards a group of teens. " Good morning Kurosaki-kun", greeted an over eccentric blond. " Hi Orihime, Sado, Tatsuki" every one else returned the morning greeting. A dark eyed youth with stylish glasses, and silver bangs approached Ichigo. "Yo, Ishida", with out returning his greeting the toher youth said, "We need to talk". _ Damn it this guy is always so serious, _thought Ichigo. He followed Ishida to the door, Ishida stretched out his arm to open it, but stopped. Sensing a spiritual presence on the other side of the door he withdrew his arm and waited. The door cautiously slid open, on the other side stood Rukia, who glanced from Ishida to Ichigo. Just for a second their eyes made contact, but in that second they both lost their breath. All to soon the fight from the night before came flooding into Ichigo's mind, along with bits and pieces of his dream. He tried to organize his thoughts, but found it fruitless. His mind was cluttered with to many emotions anxiety, fear, regret. He could barely hear his own thoughts over the sound of his erratic heart beat. He tried to calm himself, but again it was fruitless.

Rukia was caught off guard, when their eyes met she had and urge to slap him, hug him, and say sorry all at once. However she would settle just for, "Good morning, Uryu, Ichigo". With that she walked towards her seat without waiting for a reply. Ishida whom hadn't noticed that his two classmates had been acting weird ushered Ichigo out the door. Or rather, he would have ushered Ichigo out the door if Shinji wasn't blocking it.

"Oi, morning, how's everyone today", Shinji had his usual mask of over bearing polietness on. Ishida returned the greeting. "Morning Hime-kun", Shinji shouted from the doorway. "Morning Shinji-san", Orihime shouted back. Shinji smiled, stepping inside the classroom and sliding the door closed behind him. He did not however move from the doorway. Ishida grew irratted, "Shinji-san please move". Shinjis' eyes changed for an unnoticeable moment as he looked at the two boys. "It's not like either one of you has any time left anyways,...to talk that is", his voice had dropped to a menacing whisper. Ishida and Ichigo exchanged glances as they pushed pass Shinji and made for the door. Ishida swung the door open and stepped through. Or rather, he would have stepped through if the teacher hadn't been on the other side. "Good morning class, please take your seats", defeated Ishida turned and sulked all the way to his chair. Ichigo followed suit.

The first half of the school felt like it was nothing more than a passing daydream to Ichigo. His mind, and his stomach were uneasy. Instead of feeling depressed he simply channeled the energy towards hunger. Thank god it was lunch time. Ichigo was currently eating some of Tatsuki's homemade vegetable lo'mein. It was good, it wasn't to spicy or lacking in flavor, or just weird like her female counterpart. After he ate he journeyed to the roof. It was vacant, which was just the way he liked it. Nice and quiet, he walked over to the border, a cement wall that enclosed the roof of the school, it was only about two feet high. He laid his back on the cool cement casting a gaze towards the sky. Taking a deep breath he began to relax. Just as he exhaled Ishida appeared, standing with his arms folded.

"You look like you need some sleep", chided Uryu as he noticed the bags under Ichigo's eyes. "You would be the one to rub it in wouldn't you", Ichigo retorted furring his eyebrows. "So I take it that your still having those dreams", Ishida inquired. Ichigo didn't break his gaze as he continues, "No I'm still having those nightmares, only there worst now". Ichigo had told Ishida about the dreams hoping that he had a solution,Uryu couldn't think of one; Ichigo was still watching the clouds, "Ishida you wanted to talk earlier, and I don't think that it was about my dreams. "Well", the spectacle boy started, "It's semi related, I was wondering if I could take over for you tonight"

Ichigo's group took turns patrolling the city on different nights. So that no one person would use up to much energy in one night, or fall behind in their studies. Ishida came up with the idea and the schedule. Ichigo had Mondays, Wensdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, by request. Ishida had Tuesdays, and Sundays. Leaving Orihime and Sado with Thursdays. Which worked perfectly for them because Sado had band practice and cram school; and Orihime had cram school, a job, and a boyfriend. For a while this worked, until Ichigo's dreams began to escalate. Which left him irritated, tired, and out of stamina to endure a full night of patrol. Ishida even had to save his ass a few times, which eventually lead to him taking over for him a few nights. Ichigo never declined the generous offer, even though he rarely got a decent nights rest when he was off.

Ichigo broke his gaze for a second and said, "Thanks Ishida". Uryu smiled and said, "No problem what are best friends for". **Ding Dong!** The bell signaling the second half of the day rang. Ichigo stood up and walked towards the stairs. Ishida followed.

The rest of the day was a drag, no one could wait for the day to end; the bell was a god send. Everyone hurried into the hall, bodies crammed the hallways. Nothing would stop them in their pursuit of the fresh air of freedom. The textbooks would not way these joyous rebels down as they left the world of 'having to', and entered the world of, 'wanting to'. Ichigo walked down the stairs to the first floor. His mind thought less, finally clear of those congested emotions. Today he was the last one to leave. That was just how he liked it, the last one never had to smell the foul odors of other students, or hear the sounds of meaningless conversations. The only thing the last one got was silence, which was exactly what he wanted.

"Kursaki-kun", shouted an unwanted voice. Turning around he noticed a smiling Shinji waving at him. Shinji seemed to be ill at ease. A group of attractive girls were swarming around him, Shinji whispered something into the one that was nearest to him. She giggled and ran to Ichigo, _so red head today huh_, thought Ichigo. "Shinji-kun asks that you wait for him in the lobby", she said with the biggest and dopiest smile he'd seen yet. Shinji had acquired a playboy habit during his short time at the school. The girl spun around and ran back to the group, but when she returned Shinji was gone. She looked back over towards Ichigo whom had also dissipated. Sighing she said, "I was really looking forward to that threesome"

Ichigo had made his way towards the roof, he knew that Shinji would be waiting. Or rather he assumed that Shinji would be waiting. However when he got there Shinji was no where, in plain sight. Ichigo walked into the center of the roof, and glanced around. "Oi, down there howdy do", greeted an upside down Shinji, whom was also floating in midair. "And you say that I waste my spiritual energy, you use it more than me." Shinji smiled, "No I believe that I said that you let yours spill out carelessly, not that you waste it." Shinji as Shinji landed his facial expression and composer changed. He was now more business like. His mask was no longer on, no more games would be played, no jokes exchanged, now only serious business would be discussed.

"So whats new?", questioned Ichigo. "It would appear that Aizen doesn't plan on making his move for quite some time. He seems intent on training his army." Ichigo grimaced at the thought of an army of hollows, menos, and arrancar. Shinji continued, "You needn't worry about fighting in this war anyways, since you have a war of you own to fight". Ichigo pondered that last statement _war of my own?._ "Ichigo you know what I'm talking about, think hard", Shinji held the palm of his hand in front his face. Blocking most of his features from sight. It was then that Ichigo realized what he was refereeing to. "You mean my inner hollow.", he asked. "Correct"

Rukia was sitting on her bed, it had been roughly a whole hour since school ended. She wondered if Ichigo was still upset. She had hoped that he would hurry home to rest before his patrol, but if he was mad he probably wouldn't come until after she was asleep. If he wasn't mad then he'd be hungry, in which case he would eat. _But Yuzu hasn't cooked anything yet._ Yuzu wasn't home yet and neither was Karin. And Issin well, Issin was out somewhere, so that meant that no one was home. Then it dawned on her that she could cook something for Ichigo. _It's good start at an apology_, she thought. With that she headed towards the kitchen.

"Correct", Shinji said as his own hollow mask materialized in his now clenched palm. Ichigo's mood began to dive, from nonchalant downhill to nervous and unconfortable. "Shinji", he started, but was cut off. "Ichigo, I told you before that once the symptoms start it was all over, that there was no going back.", Ichigo vaguely remembered that conversation. "Ichigo, you need to understand this, once your inner hollow starts to move, it's over for you. It will consume you. It will devour your soul until there's nothing left. You will become an arrancar, and we, I will annihilate you"

Those words began to stir something inside of Ichigo. _ Begins to move...what if it has already begun..._ "Ichigo when I said that every one will turn you, I meant it. If you become a hollow everyone, your family, your friends, your fellow shinigami, even us vizard will turn against you. You will become to powerful of a hollow we can't let you join Aizen. We all, will kill you." Ichigo stared at Shinji's hollow mask thinking of his own. He thought about losing everything important to him. He began to feel fear, he didn't want to be alone. "Ichigo", Shinji started as he shifted his mask, now only half of his face was shown. "Ichigo remember when I said that we should be friends?"

_The over eccentric transfer student took a seat next to the carrot top. Placing his books on the right, he glanced to his left making eye contact with the with orange haired youth. That grabbed Ichigo's attention. " Hi my name is Hirako Shinji, Kurosaki-kun, lets be friends"_

"Yeah I remember, you said that on your first day right", Shinji smiled. "Yeah I did, and I meant it, we should be friends, since I've gone already through the transition, I may be of some help.", Shinji's free hand ruffled his pocket. A second later he removed a small business card. He handed it to Ichigo, whom read immediately. _Hirako Shinji, Vizard recruiter. _It had his cell and home numbers on it. "Business cards?" Ichigo couldn't hold back a small smile. "Yeah everyone thinks that it's a good idea, well anyways call sometime okay.", with that Shinji started to air walk away.

_I wonder if he really can help me stop my inner self, before it consumes me. _Ichigo was once again at ill ease. To many emotions were swirling inside his head. He started his walk home, placing the headphones back in his ear he turned up the volume, and tuned out the world. Unbeknown to him that his own inner world was starting to come apart. Somewhere deep inside of his soul a sinister laugh echoed, _**to late Ichigo, it's already begun and you can't do anything to stop it.**_

A/n: Yeah so thats the first chapter, if you like or don't like let me know. I'll try to make it better in the next one. So leave a comment with your thoughts and I'll get back to you.

Just a side note, I know that i had a lot of conversations in this chapter, but it was just so you knew where everything was at, who's around and who wasn't stuff like that. Oh and a certain red head will be making an appearance so don't kill me for not adding him in this chapter. §§


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Not yet anyways.

A/N: I want to thank my first reviewer Dalero. I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out. I've been so busy with graduation and starting college that i actually forgot about my fics. So I apologize. This chapter is a little longer than i planned, but still has some good stuff in it. If you like or don't like this chapter fell free to tell me. I do accept flames. um... if you have any suggestions on how i could keep certain characters in character when i write there welcomed. Also thank you for reading.

Rain Chapter Two:

Night Off

As the sun set below the horizon, the autumn sky was brilliantly painted with many different colors. Soft hues of orange blending with crimson red, which wasn't offset by the deep violet. Together these colors worked extremely well, each separate color complimented and accented the other two. Alone they were plain, lacking the substance that was needed to fill the sky. However, together were the most efficient team. No one would dare to take them apart, not even the scattered pink cherry blossoms of a sakura tree.

"Baby It's You", by June was playing softly through Ichigo's black and white headphones. Ichigo was nearing his house, it took every ounce of his being to drudge on. Mentally he was tired and stressed. He lacked the energy to even cross the street, with his mind so weary, he could no longer block out the negative thoughts of his dreams and the conversation he had with Shinji. He could only attempt to shift his focus onto his music. Desperate for a song with a little more bass he began to shuffle through a seemingly infinite play list. When he finally came across one, the screen went black.

His only refuge from the world of pain was now gone. His steps were stammering, he felt as if the slightest wind could knock him over. At least he was at the corner, only five houses to go. He glanced towards the sky then across the street, he saw a little girl about to cross with her mother. She was clinging tightly to her protection from the passing cars. She was smiling and laughing, to her the only world she had was connected to her hand. _**Kind of nostalgic, eh.**_

Meanwhile in another part of the town, there was a busty blond filling two wine glasses with champagne. "Tatsuki, hurry up, if comes while your here it'll ruin my surprise", Inoue shouted to her friend who was lighting the candles in the living room. " Surprise? Oh you mean the fancy four course meal that I prepared.", Tatsuki playfully retorted. Orihime hadn't heard what she said, seeing as she was focused on fixing the table. "Ok I'm all done here so I guess that I'll be leaving. Unless you want me to stay.", Tatsuki loved her new favorite pastime of picking on Inoue whenever she was about to see her boyfriend. "NO trust me that's fine I'd rather you leave.", with that she pushed her best friend out the door.

About a quarter of an hour later, some one was heard rapping at the door. **Knock! Knock! **"Coming", Inoue sang. As she slowly approached the door, she did a last minute check of everything. The food was cooked and decorations set. Her dress was nice, it was midnight black, it stopped just above the knees and had a swooping neck line with an overlap, it showed a "modest" amount of cleavage. It was also opened in the back, her orange blond hair fell gracefully down the center of her back.

**Knock! Knock!** The rapture grew impatient. She took a deep breath during the final steps as she opened the door she shouted "Happy...". There was no one out side, her porch was empty. _Where could he be? Maybe it was just some kid playing a joke or killer aliens attempting to steal my brain._ She quickly locked the door and ushered all thoughts of aliens, children, and brains from her mind. She rose her hand to reach for the metal chain; clasping the chain she slid it across the metal divide. She relaxed her body allowing her arms to fall back to her side, but before she could drop her arms to her sides two strong arms had circled her waist and drew her close to the sweet scent of Calvin Klein cologne. The mysterious figure brushed his lips against her ear and said in a soft caring voice, "Happy one year anniversary, Inoue ". Smiling she leaned backwards into his embrace and replied, " Happy one year anniversary to you to... Ishida"

"_And what do you want?", _Ichigo questioned the all to familiar voice.

"_**Now now, is that anyway to treat your permanent house guess."**_ Ichigo stopped and glanced at the sky looking for any traces of the moon or stars, happily failing. "_Why are you talking to me it's not night time yet, I thought you were trapped in my soul until the moon rose." _

"_**Right, and I thought you were observant." **_Ichigo hastened his steps, he didn't know what kind of game his other half was playing at but he wasn't going to fall for it. Three houses left, only three, three then he could drown out the vindictive sound of that creatures voice. Still it bothered him, Urahara had said that his inner self could only speak to him if one of two conditions were met. The first being that he was in bankai, or the second when the moon was up in his human form. Neither criteria was met so how was he talking to him?

"_**I already said that you're not that observant."**_ His inner hollow began to laugh, his laughter was deep and nerve recking. It was un-weaving the threads of his mind, he couldn't focus and his eye sight went blurry. He tripped, falling downward. The cold cement dug into his cheek, warm blood oozed onto the pavement.

"_**Ichigo, why not escape this pain, change, change and let me help you escape."**_ Ichigo's head was beating like a war drum. His mind was starting to consider changing to shinigami where he would at least be able to fight a little more valiantly against his other half. At the same time however this also meant meant that his other half would also have the ability to mount a stronger assault. He began to seriously weigh the options._** "Ichigo", **_cooed his darkness, "_**Ichigo I want to help you, I'm not the bad guy, don't listen to Shinji."**_

" _Shinji"_, Ichigo tried to remember what Shinji had told him.

"_Ichigo, I told you before that once the symptoms start it was all over, that there was no going back.", Ichigo vaguely remembered that conversation. "Ichigo, you need to understand this, once your inner hollow starts to move, it's over for you. It will consume you. It will devour your soul until there's nothing left. You will become an arrancar, and we, I will annihilate you"_

_Those words began to stir something inside of Ichigo._

"_If you become a hollow everyone, your family, your friends, your fellow shinigami, even us vizard will turn against you. We all, will kill you."_

_Ichigo thought about losing everything important to him. He began to feel fear, he didn't want to be alone._

Standing up Ichigo smiled. "_You know what I don't think I want your help, thanks but no thanks. Oh, and by the way you can get lost now"._ Ichigo's hollow didn't retort, Ichigo didn't know if he had given up or just lost interest. Ichigo didn't care which one it was cause for now he was free from that hell. "Thanks Shinji I owe you one", Ichigo said as he ran the rest of his way home.

Beads of sweat dripped down Ichigo's face. His school uniform was soaked, even his pants were a few shades darker. His breathing was once again ragged and his heart in turmoil. His conversation with his other half had drained more out of him then he thought. Fortunately he was home now, all he had to do was shower, and lay down. He didn't dare try to sleep, he knew what would await him the second he crossed into his subconscious.

"_Mommy"_

Ichigo didn't need anymore surprises all he wanted to do was relax and enjoy his day off. He took a deep breath as he thrust his key into the lock and turned it, hearing the sound of the metal clicking and sliding. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. What he saw when he crossed through the threshold was a shocking, horrific, and hilarious sight.

The kitchen was a mess cheese, milk, eggs, bread, meats, and the rest of the fridge were scattered, plastered, and smothered everywhere. On the chairs, on the walls, on the ceiling, on the floor, and even in the corners. Dripping, running, bubbling liquids completely covered the room. The only thing that wasn't covered with any remnants of food was the table. Ichigo's eyes glanced over the room again, this time resting in the center.

Rukia stood there glaring at Ichigo, icy purple eyes meet tired brown orbs. Rukia was covered head to toe with approximately the same amount of filth that covered the kitchen. Cheese and flour, jams and butters, encased her body. Her white tee shirt was now tye died yellow, blue, brown, and somehow pink. Her slender arms had vats of butter and grease marinating them. Even her hair had chocolate in it. Her icy orbs were cold enough to freeze death. Ichigo couldn't take it anymore, it was to much. The silence wasn't helping, it only gave him time to absorb all of it. Taking a deep breath he did the only thing that he could think of. He laughed.

Rukia was awestruck, Ichigo was laughing, that wasn't a sight that you saw everyday. Ichigo let out deep thunderous roars of laughter, that shook the air. He clenched his abs as he fell to the ground laughing, tears welled in his eyes. All of his fatigue left him as tears steamed down his cheeks, stinging him slightly on his bruise. Rukia was happy that he was laughing, finally being loose. She wondered why he was laughing so much though. A moment later it occurred to her that his rioting fit of laughter was at her. Rukia's mood swung. She was now swept away by her sudden anger, she tried to do something nice for a change and all he could do was laugh.

"Ichigo what's so funny? Ichigo, ICHIGO", she could barely hear her own voice over the bellows of laughter. Ichigo on the other hand could barely stand, picking up his head he tried not to glance directly at her. Ichigo tried to stifle his laugh at the same time but he only succeeded in coughing. Taking a deep breath he rose to his feet.

"Rukia what were doing trying to bake yourself into a cake?", Ichigo walked over to the kitchen drawer. He pulled out a mini mirror and handed it to Rukia. She took it and looked at her reflection. Her face had brown and yellow smears on it, her hair was a mess . Half of it was hardened chocolate, the other was gooey cheese. Her icy orbs weren't so icy anymore. "Baka", she said softly as she struggled to suppress a smile. "Rukia if you were hungry you could have asked Yuzu to make you something", Ichigo had regained his posture. He walked over to the sink and grabbed a rag, wetting it he returned to Rukia's front. "Yuzu isn't here, and I wasn't hungry", at this Ichigo rose an eyebrow.

"You weren't hungry, so was this your dumb idea of a way to practice then?", Rukia was about to shoot back a fiery hot reply, but Ichigo had placed a cool moist rag on her cheek. He was cleaning the mess of her face. Using soft massaging circles he gently wiped all of the particles from the sides of her face. Then he scrubbed the chocolate from her forehead. _Why is he doing this?_ she thought. _I should stop him, I don't need to be pampered._ Even though she thought that, she silently wished that he would continue. She enjoyed his touch, for some reason unknown to her she liked the way his hand felt on her cheek. He slid his hand down caressing her now rosy cheeks, and cupped her chin. His grip was firm but not hard. He cleaned her nose, when he finished he dropped his right arm so that the rag was now on by his side. Ichigo peered deep into purple eyes, _she's really cute when she blushes like that_, he thought. He tilted her chin upwards, she could feel his breath on her lips.

_What is he doing, _she wondered, _I should really ask him what he's planing on doing._ Even if she were to ask that question Ichigo couldn't answer, anything he ever did or said was done instinctively. He leaned forward, there lips were almost touching. If either were to speak, their lips would slide lightly over the others.

Ishida was laying on his back staring at the ceiling, were the fan was rotating slowly. His chest rose and lowered slowly. He was calm, he chuckled after realizing this. After what just happened, he was surprised that he could be this calm. He chuckled again. This time disturbing the vixen whom has resting on his chest. " Hmmm, baby your still up", she practically moaned. Ishida's right hand swept through strands of her hair. Smiling he answered, "Yeah I'm still up, you know that I don't usually fall asleep until late." She rolled on top of him, so that her face would be leveled with his chin. "Uryu lets go again, I'm ready", she said flirtatiously. Uryu chanced a glance at the clock, six thirty. Six thirty didn't leave him with to much free time left. Soon he would have to go hollow hunting.

"Hime, I don't know about that, I told you that I'm taking over for Ichigo tonight. I don't think that its a good idea" Inoue pouted, "Why do you always take over for Kurosaki-kun", she asked half heartedly, praying that Ishida would slip and finally tell her what was going on with Ichigo. It didn't take a genius to know that something was bothering Ichigo.

" I already told you, that for Ichigo leading a double life is to stressful, between being a teenager, a clinic hand, and being a shinigami Ichigo can't... mmrrf". The rest of sentence never made it out, for Inoue had placed a deep kiss in the middle of a lengthly explanation. Pulling back he asked, "Why did you do that, I was trying to explain to yo-", she placed her right index finger over his lips. _Because you were about to tell me the biggest load of bull,_ is what she had wanted to say, but instead she settled for "Thats exactly why, you explain too much. I swear, if you were writing a story your readers would lose interest, now lets stop talking and get back to the good stuff." With that said she leaned in and gave her boyfriend a passionate kiss.

_Talk about perfect timings_, Ichigo thought. _I'm lucky that gravity works so well, _ Ichigo said as he took a step back.

_He gently wiped all of the particles from the sides of her face. Then he scrubbed the chocolate from her forehead. __Why is he doing this?__ she thought. __I should stop him__, I__ don't need to be pampered__. Even though she thought that she didn't want him to stop. She enjoyed his touch, for some reason unknown to her she liked the way his hand felt on her cheek. He slid his hand down caressing her now rosy cheeks, and cupped her chin. His grip was firm but not hard. He cleaned her nose, when he finished he dropped his right arm so that the rag was now on by his side. Ichigo peered deep into purple eyes, __she's really cute when she blushes like that__, he thought. He tilted her chin upwards, she could feel his breath on her lips. What is he doing, she wondered, __I should really ask him what he's planing on doing__. Even if she were to ask that question Ichigo couldn't answer, anything he ever did or said was done instinctively. He leaned forward, there lips were almost touching. If either were to speak, their lips would slide lightly over the others. _

_Rukia closed her eyes as Ichigo leaned forward. Their lips rubbing togeather slightly, Ichigo closed his eyes. It seemed like an eternity. There they were hanging in limbo, fate pushing them together. Ichigo was leaning forward Rukia was bracing for the touch of his lips. Both were impatient, the just as Ichigo lurched forward. A drop of chocolate fell from the ceiling and landed between them. Talk about irony._

Ichigo was now standing by the sink, wiping chocolate from his lips. Rukia was standing in the same spot, with her back to him. _What just happened, _she wondered. The water gushed from the pipe, Ichigo's mind seemed to blend with the water. So many emotions flooded his brain on a daily basis, so many emotions. Today was no exception, he couldn't find the word for it. The word for what he was feeling now, it was warm and cold at the same time. It was full of pleasure and yet carried a pinch of hurt. He felt like someone had just taken a hot knife and shoved it through his chest. Taking a deep breath he shut off the water and turned around.

Rukia tried not to talk for she did not trust her voice to hide her conflicting emotions. "Rukia why were you doing trying to cook if you weren't hungry?", Ichigo asked as he wiped his hands clean. "Well", she started, "I was trying to make an apologetic meal for you". She lifted a powdery white finger towards the center of the table. Sure enough the was a plate of food. To be exact there was a plate of nachos, complete with cheese and salsa. Ichigo stared at the nachos then at the kitchen, his eyes move to Rukia then back to the nachos. After his observation he let out another deep howl of laughter.

_I don't believe that this fool has the nerve to laugh, that's it I'm never doing anything nice for him again, _she thought angrily. She decided to give him piece of her mind physically. Wiping some gunk onto a not so dirty part of her skirt she wheeled around palm opened ready to lash out at him, the slap was intended to knock the laughter out of him. Then just as it was inches away from his face, he caught her wrist.

She stared at his hand, he had never blocked a hit before, this was new. Her purple iris's gazed into his brown orbs. He opened his mouth to speak and a voice unlike his usual monotone came out, "You didn't have to do that for me, we fight all the time and we always get over it." His voice was deeper than a casual monotone. It sounded a bit refreshed and sincere yet you could still hear the exhaustion and fatigue that shadowed every syllable. Suddenly his eyes weren't so opaque, they were border line translucent. She could see restless fatigue dancing somberly with nauseating despair, and a few light wisps of depression. She realized that his whole posture mirrored the expression that was encased in his eyes. His legs which were usually so strong looked as if they were twigs that could snap at the slightest pluck. Her eyes rolled over the tired features of his face, until they rested on a crimson streak of dried blood the lingered on his cheek..

"Ichigo your bleeding"her tone was full of worry. Neglecting her open concern for him he turned around and walked back to the sink. Attempting to put as much distance as he could between them in such an enclosed space.

"Rukia go take a shower and get dressed", she shot a confused look at his back. "Get dressed?", without turning around he continued, "Get dressed were going out for dinner, think of it as being my to say I'm sorry". She blinked, _sorry, _she thought. "But Ichigo I", he turned around. His eyes were regular again, full of the same seriousness that Hitsugaya-taichou had. " Hey stupid I never said that it was up for discussion, now go take your damn shower." She only blinked, she didn't want to say anything for once. She lacked the flare, she was to confused to think of a witty or angry reply. So she turned and walked to her room.

Ichigo had nearly finished the dishes by the time he heard the water running from the bathroom. He ran the events of the afternoon through his head. He had to admit, it was an unusually weird day. Even by his standards, he blamed it on the high amount of mental stress he was going through. As he deposited the last of the silverware into the dishwasher, his mind trailed off to the kiss that almost happened. He didn't understand why he was making a big deal out of it for. He was just going along with the flow of things like he usually did. It wasn't unlike him to follow his instinct, which he did no matter what. The part that he couldn't comprehend was why. Why had he almost kissed Kuchiki Rukia? He could ask that question a million times and still have no answer. So instead of stressing over something he couldn't answer, he merely decided to shift his energies to the task at hand. Cleaning up the kitchen.

Rukia ran her small fingers through her wet hair. Lathered shampoo ran down her small frame, and into the drain at her feet. She closed he eyes as she splashed some of the water on her face, to get rid of the shampoo that was about to flow into her eyes. She stood under the shower head, allowing soft massaging beads of moderately hot water to hit her front. Her body was now free of its filthy entombment. She ran a finger down the side of her cheek all the way to her lips. She blushed as she thought about the almost kiss scenario. _I wonder what he would have done if the chocolate hadn't fallen._ She began to imagine multiple situations which included her and Ichigo doing various acts on the kitchen floor, these only caused her to blush more.

"Stop it Rukia", she told herself. "You're nobility, you mustn't have such impure thoughts", but deep inside her mind a voice echoed, A_nd why can't you have thoughts like that, in soul society you may be nobility but in the real world your just plain old Rukia. Your 'typical' every day high school teenage girl._ She had to admit it, she had a good point. It wasn't like soul society were her brother could punish her for doing something wrong. It was Earth where her job was to blend in and seem as natural as possible. So didn't that mean she should be able to act like normal females her age? Or in the least act like the age that she appeared to be? The water began to drop a few degrees in temperature snapping her out of her thoughts. "Have I been in here that long already?", she wondered as she reached for the faucet handle and her towel.

"I'll be back soon, princess", Ishida said as he walked towards the balcony. " Don't wait up for me all right?", he said as he stepped onto the cold cement floor of the balcony foyer. "Aren't you forgetting something, honey?", Inoue asked folding her arms. With his back still to her he said, "Lets see" Ishida said as he kept count on his fingers, "Quicy clothes, Quincy Bow, Quicny cross, Quincy necklace. Nope I don't think I'm forgetting anything". (Side note: Ishida has quincy powers due to the fact that the artifact didn't break completely in the Bounto arc. Thats to clearify a few things. I do plan on bringing the fic back to cannon type events after this arc in the story.) Inoue pouted, with her arms still folded she took a step forward, towards her cruel boyfriend. She was about the unfold her arms as he dissipated, with a speed that could rival Yourichi's. Frowning again she turned around only to be face to face with Ishida. "Oh yeah how could I forget", he said as wrapped his arms her waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. " Good night, I love you Inoue", she smiled, "I know Ishida" They shared a brief kiss, that was full of passion. Lasting only a few seconds before Ishida broke it and returned to the balcony railing. "Oh and don't forget to open my gift at midnight", with that said he vanished. "Midnight?", she thought out loud. Glancing at the clock she pouted again, "No fair that a whole five and a half hours" She continued to pout as she walked back to the bed, the sheets trailing behind her.

_Is another cup size to much to ask, _thought Rukia as she cupped her breasts. She sighed silently as she slowly massaged the moist lotion into the skin of her chest. She ignored when her nipples perched up and continued her train of thought. _Seriously Urahara couldn't create a gigai with bigger breast for me._ She laughed at the thought, she was attempting to think like a teenage girl based on what she picked up from magazines. She recalled the conversations that other females had at school. About how they want nice perky breasts so guys would notice them. Rukia also recalled that she had to fight the urge to slap each of them while informing them that a real man should notice you for your mind and intellect. She now wondered if that was how all females thought in the human world. Than for no reason at all her mind began to wonder if Ichigo was the kind of guy who stared at girls like Orihime's chest and processed nasty thoughts. She scowled at herself in the mirror, she knew Ichigo wasn't that kind of guy. Even so was another cup size to much to ask.

Ichigo's feet slowly traversed the floor of his fathers bedroom. His breath was shallow for he did not want to inhale to much of the scent that lingered. _It still smells like her, he thought._ Ichigo's thoughts swayed back to his mother and all of the memories he had with her. Not wanting to dwell in the land of sadness for too long he quickened his pace and made his way to his fathers bathroom.

Ichigo stepped into the shower and drew the sliding door shut behind him. Turning on the faucet he allowed moderately hot water to pelt his sweat crusted abs. The hot water trickled down his front and into the drain. He leaned his back against the shower wall behind him and closed his eyes. The fatigue began to work its magic. His mind calmed and his senses relaxed, the hot water was working wonders. After a few deep breaths he smiled slightly, he was pleased. This pleasureful feeling was increasing, it began to lure him into a state of enhanced relaxation. Closing his eyes he began to sway between conscious and unconscious perhaps soon he would fall asleep.

"_Mommy"_

Ichigo's eyes fluttered open he had dozed off. Shaking his head he walked forward a few steps and arched his back underneath the shower head. The now scolding hot beads ran over his back muscles down to his calves and past his heels. He open and his eyes and glanced at the tiled floor in front of him. It was made up of small squares that were no bigger than his thumbs length. It consisted of the colors pink and gray that fell in no distinct pattern. A jagged patch of gray hit a right angle as a few tiles of pink accented it and vice versa; it was as if they couldn't decide weather the should be pink or gray and settled for some skewed position in the middle. He had honestly never liked the tiles or the shower in fact, he found them to be both nauseating and depressing. He erected himself and allowed the water to once again hit his front, he turned around allowed his back to receive the relaxing beads.

He lifted his right arm into an arched v like position against the wall besides him pushing out on it with his palm; he then stretched out his left arm so that it reached the wall in front of him an pushed out with equal force. He had assumed this position many times, it was the position he used to wash blood off his back. A back that would have been full of scars if it weren't for the combined efforts of Orihime, and Zangetsu. There was however one scar that he would never allow to heal or be healed, and that was the scar that Kuchiki-Taichou had given him when he severed both his soul chain and soul sleep. It was a reminder of the completely selfless act that Rukia had done to protect him. She was willing to die for him, willing to fight against her caretaker and brother in order to safeguard him. It was the second time that someone had sacrificed themselves for him, that scar was a warning. For there not to be a third.

Icihigo's thoughts dwelt on his scar for a few more moments before finally reaching for the soap and lathering up his wash cloth. He applied the lathered soap to his body and rinsed off. He repeated this process a few times before rinsing and hanging his wash cloth and reaching for the shampoo. He lathered his hair effectively and rinsed it. He opened his eyes and watched it as it went down the drain.

With his towel wrapped tightly and securely around his waist he mad his way back to his room. His mind had become a blank slate. Or rather his mind mimicked a blank slate in order to cope with his failing emotional state. When he reached his room he turned the door knob slowly without knocking. He glanced around the room slowly attempting to spy on Rukia. He knew that this action would grant him a kick to the face but still he couldn't pass up the chance to poke some fun at Rukia. Noticing that she was no where in sight he let out a breath that he hadn't remembered taking. Stepping inside he quietly closed the door and got dressed.

Ichigo was trying his hardest not to revert back to his emo stage that he was falling into. And for some reason unbeknown to him he had especially not wanted to fall into it while on his night out with Rukia. He would try his hardest to fight the oncoming darkness if it meant a nice enjoyable evening with some one that he didn't find quite as enjoyable. After dressing he stood in front of the mirror and eyed his reflection. Seeing if anything was out of place, all the while avoiding his doplegangers beseeching eyes. His eyes wandered down onto his dresser to which the mirror was attached, down towards his shinigami license. He wondered whether or not to take it it with him.

While the fact was true that Ishida was indeed covering for him tonight he thought that it would his duty as a shinigami substitute to carry it on him at all times. Also he didn't exactly like the pretenses for which Ishida would be covering for him. It felt as if his own power wasn't enough to protect his special people, almost as if he wasn't fit to be the 'leader' of his team. Then again he thought that being a good leader also meant knowing when your own power wasn't enough to suffice. Swallowing his pride he decided to leave the license behind.

Almost an hour had passed since Rukia had left the kitchen to take her shower. At the current moment she was sitting in the dinning room snacking on her homemade nachos. She had been astonished to find that they weren't that bad. Actually that was an understatement; they weren't just edible they were delicious. She continued to sit there and eat the nachos while subconsciously complimenting herself. She had almost finished the entire plate when she was awoken from her pridefully gluttonous state by the sound of someones voice. "Your going to ruin your appetite for dinner if you continue to eat that stuff, not to mention your digestive tracks.", Ichigo chided her as he furrowed his eye brows. "Shove it" she retorted as she launched a condiment topped nacho at Ichigo. Who cunningly caught it in mid dodge, pulling it slowly to his face he gave it a playful sniff before shoving it into his mouth. "mmmm... not to bad, could use some more spice though" he added thoughtfully.

Rukia had opened her mouth to retort but she was once again cut off by Ichigo. "Here" he added as he tossed a stylish black motorcycle helmet at Rukia. She caught it and stood up. Ichigo store in awe at her. She was gorgeous, the dark purple dress that she wore was modest, and yet hugged each of her curves tightly. The dress managed to stylishly cover her small perky breast with out taking away from their for lack of a better word, perkiness. Her dress stopped at he shoulders leaving her small delicate arms exposed.

As she walked towards him she flashed him an uncharacteristic seductive smile and smoothly said, "If you stare any harder you might just see through my clothes" This seemed to snap Ichigo out of his daze ; however he was still at a loss for words. Swallowing the cat which had lodged in his throat he finally eased out a "You look absolutely stunning", as he turned and walked to the door. Rukia had to bite her tung in order to not laugh at what she thought was a corny statement. She had resolved not to get into a fight with Ichigo tonight, and god dammit she wasn't by any means going to break that.

The air outside was cool. Rukia started to regret not bringing a jacket with her. She glanced at the night sky which was adorned with beautiful starts and a glowing full moon which shoe brightly through the clouds. A few street lamps decorated the side walk one was placed in front of the Kurosaki residence.

She followed him over to the sidewalk were his bike was currently parked. ( AN: Ok yeah i know Ichigo has a bike and yet he walks to school, before you ridicule me just think of the money he saves on gas.) It was a jet black Kawasaki Ninja; it's owners helmet was sitting safely on its seat. Ichigo slowly walked to its left side, which put him directly underneath the street light. It wasn't until that moment that Rukia had noticed how much he had grown in the few short years she had known him.

He was noticeably taller, and yet he still hadn't caught up with Sado who had gotten even taller. His muscles were well toned, and he had a slight tan. Her eyes scanned up and down his front, also taking in his out fit for the first time. He had a very plain form fitting white dress shirt which stopped a little below his belt. His legs were covered with light blue jeans which had a bleached fade that ran down the center of each leg. They were boot cut and ended somewhere below the tung of his white shoes. His accessories included a silver rocker chain attached to his pants and a silver stud in his left ear. Even though he had gotten both his ears pierced sometime in the pass year he rarely wore studs in either hole, and even then he only occupied one ear at a time.

"If you stare any harder my clothes might catch on fire", Ichigo taunted mockingly through his helmet. Rukia scowled and placed her helmet on and proceed to climb on behind Ichigo. Wrapping her arms around him she leaned forward for a better hold. "Did you like what you saw", he questioned playfully. "Shut up and drive" and with that they took off into the night.

A/N: Well yeah thats chapter two. Sorry that it took so long. Please read and review.

A/N: I started this project probably four months ago, and became entranced with doing a whole series on it. But alas writers block entombed my mind. Originally I wanted to post the next three chapters (including this one), but due to writers block i barely finished this one. Hopefully I can complete the next one soon. In any event I hope that you have enjoyed this installment. Please review I need all the support I can get.


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